The McCarrick case has revealed a defect in the system
If the allegations against Cardinal Theodore McCarrick are true, they represent a microcosm of the whole abuse crisis. A powerful cleric using his position to commit his crimes and sins; a cycle of abuse, in which victims become perpetrators; churchmen not themselves guilty of abuse who nevertheless fail to see, and when they are made to see, fail to act; a culture of corruption and violence that is deeply entrenched and global in scope.
A month after the Archdiocese of New York said that abuse claims against McCarrick were “credible and substantiated”, new allegations continue to appear in mainstream news outlets. One alleged victim, the son of a family friend of McCarrick’s, told the New York Times that McCarrick began to abuse him when he was 11 years old and that the abuse continued over two decades.
